Unconditional
by 123me
Summary: Three days. It had been three days since he'd last seen her.She'd left, and there wasn't much he could do about it. He didn't even know where she was. ONESHOT


**All of my oneshot ideas seem to be kinda negative right now, probably relecting my mood seeing as it's exam time and I just really can't be bothered. I started this weeks ago, got quite a lot of it written in one night, then it got late and I had to sleep, forgot about it for a few weeks, came back to it when I started the last chapter of IP. This, that chapter, and the IP epilogue have been a life save during these exams. I'd have gone crazy because of the revision if I hadn't had them to distract me every now and again.**

**The hardest part with this, believe it or not, was naming it.**

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><p>"<em>I DIDN'T ASK YOU TO TURN DOWN THAT PROMOTION!"<em>

"_YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T WANT TO MOVE!"_

_Gabriella scoffed, her eyes narrowed. "DIDN'T WANT TO, TROY. I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO, NOT THAT I WOULDN'T."_

"_AND YOU'D HAVE WHINED FOR MONTHS ABOUT MISSING HOME."_

"_I'D HAVE GOTTEN USED TO IT." _

"_YOU'D HAVE RESENTED IT."_

"_You really think that?"_

"_THINK IT? I KNOW IT!"_

"_You don't know me at all."_

Three days.

It had been three days since he'd last seen her. He hadn't expected her to walk out. It wasn't even the worst fight they'd had, and she hadn't even walked out directly from it, but she'd left, and there wasn't much he could do about it. He didn't even know where she was. He'd personally checked the homes of all of her friends, left countless messages for her on her cell, checked in with everyone she knew on a daily basis. It was like she'd just disappeared. They'd never gone this long without communication, especially not since her parents deaths two years prior. He'd stayed in the apartment almost permanently since she walked out, only leaving to check with her friends, he wanted to be there when she returned. She hadn't, and for the first time in years, he wasn't sure she was going to.

She was picking fights more now than she ever had, and it just didn't make sense to him. One minute they'd be fine and the next she'd be screaming at him over the most trivial things. She'd been demanding and needy, and it had irritated him, but not to a point where he wanted her out of his life. He didn't care how difficult she was being as long as he knew where she was.

He loved her.

He almost slammed his fist into the wall next to him when he once again heard the sound of her outgoing voicemail message, but managed to calm himself in order to leave a message. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm not mad, okay, I'm just worried. Please, let me know you're okay. I love you."

He missed her, something he hadn't had the chance to do in years, they'd made sure of that after a brief separation years before during their final year of college, the separation that had ended in him chasing her back to their home town in order to sort it out.

_Troy let out a nervous sigh as he stared up at the house. He'd lived three months without her, Three long months, and now it was time to suck it up and apologise, okay so flying half way across the country may be a little drastic, but he was hoping that she'd appreciate the gesture._

_He lightly knocked on the door, giving a weak smile when her mother answered, a knowing smile gracing the older woman's face. "I was wondering when we'd be seeing you."_

"_Chad told me she was here." He blurted out nervously. Gabriella's mother never usually made him feel uncomfortable, but that was before he made the biggest screw up in history. "I just need to see her. If she doesn't want to see me I get it."_

"_She doesn't want to." Marie confirmed, the small smile still gracing her face. "She needs to, though." She stepped back, letting him enter. "I'll go and get her for you. Don't let her push you away this time."_

It had only taken him a couple of hours to convince her to give him another chance, even though she had made it clear that she was nowhere near through punishing him. They'd returned home again in the summer, during which he'd spent weeks trying to get time alone with her father to ask for his blessing before he proposed.

Her parents were both dead less than a year later.

_Gabriella laughed hysterically as her fiance's fingers danced over the soft skin of her stomach, her legs instinctively kicking out at him as he continued his assault._

"_Stop it." She giggled, squirming to avoid his fingers as he grinned._

"_Say it."_

"_No."_

"_Say it."_

"_Troy, sto.." She was cut off by the ringing of the phone, and felt the light pressure from his fingers alleviate._

"_Saved by the ring." The words made her laugh once again as he leant over her, grasping for the phone. "Hello?... Yeah, yeah she's right here."_

_She took the phone when he passed it to her, moving out from under him and automatically bringing the object to her ear. "Hello?...Yes, this is Gabriella."_

_Troy felt the atmosphere change, watched as her whole demeanour altered in front of him, her face paling and eyes watering within seconds. "No, no that's not true."_

"_Gabby?"_

"_No." She kept repeating the words, violently hanging up the phone and throwing it across the room. "No."_

"_Gabriella?" He wrapped his arms around her, scared by her unresponsiveness. "Baby, what's happened? What's wrong?"_

_She stood up, leaving his arms, going for the phone as she spoke to him. "They said mom and dad were in an accident, that they died, but they didn't, it's not true."_

_He tried to reach for her, feeling himself weaken, while knowing he'd have to be strong for her. She dialled a number, a number they both knew so well. All he could do was watch as she waited for an answer that wouldn't come._

She'd been left everything, being their only child. The house that she grew up in, cars, money, stuff. If she didn't want to, she'd never have to work again, she was rich, but she didn't feel it. What good was stuff when she couldn't have them? Their home standing empty just a few streets away from their old high school. Her parents had never moved. She couldn't live in the house without them, but she couldn't sell it either. They'd only stayed there one night since it happened, one night in her childhood room. He hadn't tried taking her back. She'd go when she was ready.

_Troy cracked open his eyes, stifling a yawn as he glanced at the clock on the nightstand. 2.18am. He stretched, reaching out to his side, intending to bring his fiancee back into his arms, only for his hand to meet nothing but air._

_He was suddenly alert, glancing around until he had assure himself she was not in the room before jumping out of bed, intending to search the house for her._

_He found her in the backyard, curled up and shaking on the ground in the middle of the lawn, tears streaming down her face, and slowly picked her up, cuddling her against his chest as he carried her back into the house._

She'd used any excuse then. Any excuse to fight with him, to push him away, growing frustrated when he refused to let her.

"_Look after her, Troy." The woman flashed a faint smile. "She needs you right now, even if she doesn't want to."_

"_I know." He agreed, shutting the door to the apartment softly as she made her way down the steps. He turned around, heading back towards the living room._

"_Is she your other woman?"_

_He stifled a groan at the accusation she made the second he entered the room, approaching her cautiously. "Gabby, that was Sophie, we've known Sophie for years, she's your friend too. You know you're all I want."_

"_Seemed pretty cosy for a friend."_

"_Honey." He sighed, wrapping both arms around her tightly as the thought about how to respond without upsetting her. "I know things are messed up right now, that nothing makes sense anymore, but I have not ever, and will not ever cheat on you. I love you."_

_She violently pushed herself out of his arms. "Then why won't you go?"_

_He frowned at the question. "Go? Why would I go?"_

"_Mom and dad loved me. They left." She started. " My grandparents, Taylor, my dog. Everyone leaves, why won't you?"_

_He pulled her reluctant form back against his chest. "Baby, I'm not going anywhere. You can push me all you like, but I'm not leaving, I'm staying right here."_

The shrill ringing of the landline snapped him out of his thoughts. He lunged for it, but frowned when he checked caller ID. It was his mother, probably telling him that she and his father were back from their trip.

"Hey mom."

"Lost something?"

His brow furrowed as he considered her words. "Like what?"

"Your fiancee perhaps?"

"How'd you know?"

"Sweetie, when I get home to find my daughter-in-law laying almost unresponsive on the couch, I tend to assume that you don't know about it." Lucille's tone was questioning. "What did you do this time?"

"We had a fight." He confessed, feeling the relief flooding him as he smiled at his mother's use of 'daughter-in-law'. They weren't married yet. "There was yelling, it was bad. She's okay?"

"She's sad." Lucille responded. "Your dad's getting her something to eat. Didn't you check here? How long has she been gone?"

He sighed. "3 days, and I called, I figured she wasn't there when no one answered, she didn't take her car mom, you live four hours away, and I didn't think she'd want to get that far away from me."

"She says she took the train." His mother's voice was soft. "She told me you hate her."

He groaned. "That's crazy." He hesitated, trying to hear her voice somewhere in the background. He couldn't. "I'm coming to get her."

"Troy." His mother's tone caused him to pause. "Leave her be tonight. Let me talk to her. Get some sleep and come in the morning."

He sighed, knowing that he probably would stand more of a chance of getting through to her if his mother spoke to her first. He didn't have to like the decision though. "Okay." He could tell the reluctance was in his tone. "Look after her for me?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, mom." He paused, a painful possibility occuring to him. "Mom. Make sure she's been eating. Properly mom, not just snacks."

_Troy watched as Gabriella slowly nibbled at the food he had put in front of her, taking her time with each small mouthful._

"_If it goes cold, I'll just put it in the microwave." He warned, his eyes still trained on her. "You're going to eat it. All of it."_

_After her parents died, he'd given her a few days to be understandably depressed, just keeping an eye on her, not forcing her to do anything she didn't want to do, but after those few days, when he realised that one of those things she didn't want to do was eat, he knew he had to step in, he had to make her eat if that was the only thing he could do. Her parents wouldn't want her starving herself. He'd thought things were going as well as they could until he'd found her forcing herself to throw up one night._

_He frowned as she scowled at him, he hated having to do this, he hated having to follow her around for hours after she ate, just to make sure that she kept it down, he hated taking her to counseling, scheduling doctors appointments, but he knew it had to be done. "Don't look at me like that."_

"_Why are you doing this to me?" It was a question he was used to. "My parents are dead, I've got nothing else to live for." She didn't mean it, he knew that, it had only been a few months since her parents deaths. "Why are you making me live?"_

_He stood up, walking around the small coffee table to sit next to her, taking her face in his hands. "Because I'm selfish." He started. "Because you're the only thing I've ever wanted and I'm not giving you up now, because I love you and I want you, no, I need you here with me." She tried turning away, but he wouldn't let her. "Because your parents wouldn't want this for you, they'd want you to be happy." He paused, seeing the tears swimming in her eyes. "If you can't do this for me, then please, please do it for them."_

_She let out a sob. "It's too hard."_

"_I know." He let her crawl into his arms, seeking comfort that she hadn't wanted mere minutes ago, pondering the words as he spoke them. Yes, he knew it must be hard for her, and there was a part of him that wished he understood how she was feeling, but the other part of him, the bigger part, hoping he never found out. "I know. I'm here, baby, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. I promise."_

"Troy?" His mother's voice was coming through strong, but he detected the questioning vulnerability in her tone. "What are you going to do? If she starts going backwards."

"Mom." He almost sounded scolding. "I'm not letting her go back to that place. She's better, now, and I'm not going to let her go back there."

"What if..."

"No." He interrupted, unwilling to deal with what was being suggested. "I'll see you tomorrow, mom. Tell her I love her."

He hung up, sighing in relief as he headed towards their room. His mom was right, he needed his sleep if he was going to make the journey to his parents house the next day. His usual nightly routine was easier for him to go about knowing where she was.

He was heading towards the bed when he saw it, something he had not spotted in the days she had been gone. The corner of an image, only just visible from where it was resting, half under the bed, covered by the messy duvet that he knew he should probably sort out before he got her home. He couldn't remember having any form of photo on the bed in weeks, let alone the past few days, it must, he concluded, be something that his fiancee had dropped before she left, probably while she was hastily packing.

**-UL-**

Gabriella screamed, violently kicking at the sheets until they no longer covered her body. She sat up, curling into a ball, hiding her face in her knees. It was a cold night, she hadn't realised how cold until the warmth of the blankets were gone and her only protection from the bitter air was an old pair of pajama pants and one of Troy's old shirts.

She cried hysterically, barely registering the feeling of arms wrapping around her, pulling her into a comforting hug.

"Sweetie." A pause. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? What's happened?"

She continued to sob, burrowing into Lucille's shoulder, tears still streaming down her face. The older woman would wait until she calmed down, then she'd ask again.

"They needed me." Gabriella choked some fifteen minutes later. "They needed me and I wasn't there."

Lucille sighed, hugging the scared young woman tighter. This wasn't the first time she'd had the nightmare, but it had been a while. "You didn't know. There's no way you could have known."

"They needed me."

"It's not your fault."

"I should have been there." Gabriella finally looked up, her face still tear-stained. "The one time they needed me and I..."

"You were at home with Troy." Lucille put in. "Where you should have been." She hesitated, watching as the young woman closed her eyes as if she was attempting to block out the logical truth. "You think they'd have wanted you to be in that car?" Slowly, the young brunette shook her head. "You think Troy would have wanted you in that car?"

Gabriella pulled away, turning away from thr woman she had come to consider a second mother. "Troy hates me."

"You know that's not true." Lucille commented. "He worries about you, he gets mad because he worries about you, and when he gets mad, he yells, because he's worried. Not because he hates you, sweetie, he yells because he loves you."

"Why?"

"I think." Lucille smiled. "That is something you have to ask him." She paused. "When he gets here tomorrow would be a good time."

"He's coming?" Gabriella let out another sob. "Why's he coming?"

"Sweetheart, he wanted to come the second he found out you were here." She admitted. "He's been worried sick, and yes, he might yell when he gets here, but only because he was worried. It doesn't mean he hates you."

"I've upset him." Lucille sighed as the waterworks started up again. "I'm a horrible person."

"No you're not." She denied, trying to soothe the almost hysterical young woman. "You're upset too, and you reacted."

"He should hate me." Gabriella cried, turning to the older woman. "Why doesn't he hate me?"

Lucille smiled. "He doesn't know how."

**-UL-**

The phone call had come at around six in the morning. Gabriella felt like she had only just got back to sleep when Lucille was shaking her awake, the frantic look in the woman's eyes conveying the seriousness of the situation. The young brunette had been automatically alert.

She didn't remember getting dressed, or doing anything really. She knew she must have, but they'd rushed out the door so fast she hadn't had time to think about what she was doing. He was hurt. He'd decided not to wait to see her, had left on the four hour drive from their apartment to his parents home, and hadn't made it, leaving them to find out not only that he wasn't home, but that he was hurt, with a phone call from a hospital. A hospital that wouldn't tell them anything about his condition until they were there. He'd been an hour away when he'd crashed, but driving that hour seemed more like a lifetime to her. Longer than the days they'd been apart, despite it being much less in reality.

She didn't know how to deal with this. The last time he'd been in hospital was as a result of a basketball injury, and she'd been there every step of the way. She'd seen him get injured, that hospital trip hadn't come as a shock for her.

"_Babe, it doesn't even hurt that much." Troy smiled, feeling the tight grip his girlfriend had on his hand. "Honestly, I'm fine."_

"_It looked bad." She commented, speaking at a rapid pace. "Are you sure you're okay? It looked like it bent all weird and I thought it was broken. It looked broken. Are you sure it's not broken?"_

_He looked towards the doctor whom had been examing his foot. "Is she in shock?"_

_The doctor smiled. "She's just worried. You're right, though, I've checked the x-rays, it's not broken, just a bad sprain."_

"_Are you sure?" Gabriella continued. "How accurate are x-rays? Are there any other tests?"_

"_Babe, stop." Troy chuckled. "I'm all good."_

She could feel the tears on her cheeks, but couldn't recall the point at which she started crying. She was being led quickly into the hospital waiting room, felt herself being seated by whichever one of Troy's parents had been holding onto her. She didn't know.

Minutes seemed like hours, and when the doctor approached she had already grown impatient, her foot tapping unconciously on the floor.

"He'll be okay." Jack tried, watching the anxious young woman. "He's tough. He'll be okay."

She didn't respond, too absorbed in her own thoughts. "I can't even look at you right now." They couldn't be the last words she ever said to him, they just couldn't.

"_Gabby, I'm sorry." She froze at the sound of his voice. It shouldn't have surprised her, he always apologised first, whether he was the one at fault or not. She was his one weakness. "What are you doing?"_

_She scoffed. "Leaving." Turning quickly, her eyes narrowed as she took in his position. She'd have trouble doing just that if he refused to move. "You've made it pretty obvious where we stand, Troy."_

_He audibly groaned. "Honey, this is ridiculous. All I said was that it was difficult to make decisions when you have to factor in someone else."_

"_And I said that you don't have to factor me in anymore." She repeated her earlier sentence, one he had spent the last half an hour trying to convince himself she didn't mean. "I'm achieving that by leaving."_

"_Where are you going to go?"_

"_I don't think that's any of your business." Her retort was sharp. "I think about me, you think about you, just like you want."_

"_Gabby." He tried. "You know that's not what I want. I love you. Please, lets talk about this."_

"_There's nothing to talk about."_

"_We've been together for eight years, Gabby." He reminded her. "Do you really want to give all that up because of one fight?"_

_He almost flinched at the shock that appeared on her features. "You think I want to break up?"_

"_Isn't that what..."_

"_NO!" She interrupted. "I want some space." She hesitated. "I was right. You don't know me at all."_

"_Gabby." He sighed, following her as she stormed past him. Was he meant to have read her mind? How else was he meant to have taken what she was saying? "Baby, come back."_

_She stopped at the door, turning on him. "I can't even look at you right now!"_

"He thinks I hate him." She cried. "He can't die thinking that I hate him."

"He's not going to die." Jack insisted, glancing over at his wife, whom was standing at reception, talking to the doctor. "He'll be fine."

"We had a fight, and I left, and now he thinks I hate him."

"No he doesn't."

"I'm a horrible girlfriend." She claimed. "He won't want me after this, it's my fault he's hurt."

She felt Lucille sit down beside her, felt the comforting hand on her shoulder. "What he doesn't want is you saying things like that about yourself."

"Do we know anything?" Jack queried, hoping that his wife would have some news that would soothe the 24 year old woman between them.

"Drunk driver clipped the back of his car, forced him off the road." Lucille tried to hide the anger in her voice. "He broke an arm, has a few fractured ribs, but other than that he should be fine. They want to keep him in another night for observation, but it looks like he got off lucky."

Jack spoke up again when Gabriella remained silent. "Did they say when we can see him?"

"The doctor went to check with her superior." She frowned slightly. "You know what these places are like."

Gabriella curled up in the uncomfortable chair of the waiting room. "I'll wait here."

Lucille frowned, taking in the woman's posture. "Why?"

"He won't want to see me."

"Of course he will." The older woman tried. She stood up as the intern she had earlier spoken to approached them, informing them that they could see him. "Come on."

Gabriella shook her head. "You should go. Both of you."

She watched as they both reluctantly left her, before letting herself continue to cry. She'd messed everything up, again. They all did whatever it took to keep her happy, often at the expense of their own happiness, and yet she still made things difficult for them. She'd involved them in an argument that had little to do with them by merely seeking sanctuary in their home. She hadn't realised she'd been there that long until they returned home.

"_Gabriella?"_

_Her head shot up at the voice, her eyes wide, conveying her alarm to the two other people in the room – her fiance's parents._

"_Gabriella, how long have you been here?" Lucille smiled softly. "Is Troy here too?"_

_She shook her head, her eyes watering at the name. She'd been so angry when she left that she hadn't been thinking properly, she'd regretted walking out mere hours after she'd done it, but she was too stubborn and proud to go straight back._

"_Oh, sweetie." Lucille exclaimed, rushing towards her in order to embrace her. She noticed Jack slowly back out of the room, leaving them to it, he never had been good with tears. "What's wrong?"_

_She didn't respond, just let the tears flow as a mix of negative emotions coursed through her,_

"Gabriella?"

She jumped slightly, looking up into Jack's face. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Yes?"

"He's asking for you." The older man stated. "Well, more demanding. He's not meant to get out of bed, but he's saying he will if you're not there soon."

She couldn't help but laugh slightly. "That sounds like him."

Jack held out a hand, and she eyed it for a few seconds, pondering what she should do. If she went with him, she'd have to come clean about everything. She knew she'd overreacted, and Troy would have questions.

"What if he only wants to see me so he can break up with me?"

"That." Jack sounded certain. "Is the last thing on his mind."

She took his hand.

**-UL-**

Gabriella paced outside the door. She'd panicked at the idea of being so close, and had told Jack to go ahead, promising to follow him when she was ready. There was nothing but silence from behind the door, except from the occassional impatient requests from Troy that one of his parents came out and got her before he did. They were waiting.

She reached for the door handle, twisting it. It was now or never.

She caught the smile that lit up his face when he saw her, noticed the small gesture he gave signalling for her to come closer. She didn't. He was meant to be mad at her. He was meant to be yelling. Instead he was trying to beckon her closer.

"Gabby don't stand in the door, get over here." He ordered, the smile still present on his face. "Let me see you."

She took a few steps forward, standing halfway between him and the door. "I'm sorry."

The smile faltered, a sigh escaping his lips. "You have nothing to be sorry for, now come here, you're ruining my plan."

"Plan?"

"The plan to grab a hold of you and refuse to let go, so you can't leave after visiting hours." He elaborated. "I can't reach you if you're all the way over there."

She stayed where she was, frozen on the spot, listening as he sighed at her lack of movement, before watching as she shifted on the bed, wincing in pain as he attempted to get out of bed.

"Troy." Lucille scolded, stepping towards him. "Lay down."

He ignored her, prompting Gabriella to rush forward, all anxiousness having disappeared at the sound of his pain. "Stay there, please, you're already hurt, please don't hurt yourself more."

He settled back, using his good arm to pull her onto the bed with him as soon as she was within reach. "Much better."

"Troy." Lucille scolded. "You're meant to be taking it easy."

"The closeness helps me relax?" He tried, but turned serious upon seeing his mother's face. "I'm sorry, mom. I know I said I'd wait until the morning, but, I just had to see her."

"Next time." She requested. "You wait."

He nodded. "Mom? Dad? Can you give us a minute?"

His eyes were on his fiancee as soon as the door had closed, her expression one of both worry and curiosity. He gave her a reassuring smile before speaking. "Do you want to get married before or after the baby's born?" He almost chuckled at her look of shock. "If you want to get married before we really have to start planning."

"How do you know?" She choked, trying to turn away from him, his hand automatically pulling her back to face him. "You can't, I, I didn't tell you."

"You dropped the ultrasound when you left." He elaborated. "I found it when I went to get some sleep, and then I just couldn't, sleep, you know, I just wanted to hold you, and you weren't there, so I figured I'd go to you." He paused. "How far along are you?"

She bit her lip. "The twelve week scan was the day before I left." She hesitated. "I'm starting to show now. I noticed yesterday."

He nodded, taking in the information. "How long have you known?"

She looked down. "A month."

"Okay." His calm tone surprised her, making her look up. " I could have helped, you know."

"You're not mad?" Her voice was small, nervous.

He pulled her closer lightly, sure to only use his good arm. "I'm just glad I know what's going on with you. I know to be more careful now."

"I don't deserve you." She muttered. "I've been horrible and now you're being all nice and..."

He leaned up, fighting through the pain to kiss her as a means of shutting her up. "Hey, you agreed to marry me, and now we're having a baby. You're stuck with me." He smiled at the grin that lit up her face. "We have a lot to sort through before the little one's born." She frowned at his words, but nodded. "We're going to be parents, we can't keep running out when we get upset, neither of us, there's three of us now."

"I was scared." She admitted, watching as he automatically reacted to the fresh tears, moving in order to wipe them away. "We haven't discussed it. Ever, and I thought that maybe..."

He frowned as she cut off. "Maybe?"

She coughed. "Maybe you wouldn't want a baby right now." She looked down. "I know the timing sucks,"

"Hey." The tone of his voice made her look up. "There's never a good time for a baby. Mom always told me that if you're waiting for the right time to have kids, you'll never have them. Now's perfect." He moved his hand down to her shirt, lifting it up a little.

"What are you doing?" She requested, placing her hands over his own, halting the movement.

"You said you're showing." He reminded her. "I want to see."

"It's barely noticeable."

He smiled as she shifted her hands, allowing him to continue, giggling as his fingers danced over her skin. "Our baby's in there."

She nodded, shuffling down in order to sink further into his arms. "I'm sorry for not telling you." She paused. "And for leaving. And for being difficult."

The goofy grin didn't leave his face. "Honey you can be as difficult as you want to be." He mirrored her pause. "Actually, I'm counting on it, because once we get home, you're not moving."

"I'll have to look after you." She tried, intending to draw attention to his injuries.

He leant in, kissing her before mumbling against her lips. "Not a chance."

She couldn't help but smile, despite knowing that his insane need to protect her was going to become even more intense, and would probably cause more arguments. For once, everything seemed to be falling into place. She hadn't realised his love for her was unconditional. Not until now.

* * *

><p><strong>Not completely happy with it, but I'm not sure what to change, so, Review!<strong>


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